Pokemon Rescue Team Explorers of Shroud
by RobbinRob
Summary: A determined pikachu plans to start his own rescue team soon, and the experiences that will come out of it maybe for better, or worse perhaps? What will this adventure entail? (FOREWARNING: THERE WILL BE SOME CURSING AND OTHER ADULT-RELATED CONTENT IN THIS FANFIC, DON'T READ IF YOU'RE NOT MATURE ENOUGH TO HANDLE IT!)
1. Chapter 1 Kirai

CHAPTER 1 Kirai

Long pointed ears twitched behind a nearby bush; a small head peeked up to see his target. The petite pokemon got on all fours, bending his legs back, lowering his ears to the sides, and raising his lightning-shaped tail in the air. In an instant, the pokemon burst to full speed, tackling a lone rock in the area, scattering it to several pieces, but failing to smash through it completely. The pokemon looked back at the aftermath of his impact.

"Tsk...C'mon man, what the hell?" The newly established pikachu said to himself in slight disappointment. He looks like a regular male pikachu with a slim build. He's 21 years old (In human years) wears a tied purple headband on his forehead, and he has an excess amount of fur on his chest and head. The scruffy head fur is somewhat thick, smooth, and spiky, folding down over his forehead region, and almost long enough to cover his right eye, only being held back by the headband. He has a few scratches and scars all over his body with the most notable one being a small zigzag-shaped scar on his left forearm. At the moment, his body is dripping with sweat drops.

Moments later, two pichus came from the woods which the pikachu came from as well. One of them wore a blue-colored scarf on their neck, and the other wore a pink scarf. They both also had small scruffs of fur on their heads. They stopped near the bigger yellow rodent, both looking somewhat concerned.

"Hey Big Brother Kirai, are you doing ok?" One of the pichu's asked in a soft high-pitched voice. Kirai looked back at his younger brother and sister with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah Rachel (13 years old), and Riley (12 years old), I'm doing alright, thanks for wondering guys." Kirai said as he looked on he pats his siblings simultaneously on the head with his hands. Both of the siblings smile back at him, grateful for their brother's safety.

"Dad said that you should come home and eat now, the sun is about to set." Rachel relays. Kirai looks up at the sky, checking out the once light blue sky slowly turning to a yellowish orange.

"Well it is rather late . . . I'll get back pretty soon, I promise." Kirai reassures them, both siblings looking somewhat concerned about that remark.

"Ok...but you better come back soon because you always say that and then you always overstay your training, and then mom and dad get mad at us because then they think we goofed off instead of telling you anything." Riley reminds his older brother, all the while pouting at the thought.

Kirai chuckles a bit. "Yeah well, you guys should know by now that I'm not that good with keeping promises, but today will be the day I keep this one, so five more minutes." He promises to them.

"Ok then. How is your training coming along?" Riley asks.

"I still have ways to go, but I'm getting faster and faster now. I just need to focus on increasing my physical strength now." Kirai updates. The younger siblings looked impressed as their eyes shimmered with admiration.

"Wow, way to go big brother. Your going to make a great rescue team one day." Rachel cheers on, Kirai smirks at the displayed admiration with slight embarrassment.

"Yeah, and when that day comes, we'll definitely join your team brother." Riley promises, causing Kirai to lose his smirk and sigh.

"What have I told you guys, y'all aren't ready for that type of work. Plus, I wouldn't want you guys to partake into something like that . . not anytime soon at least." Kirai reminds them for what seems like the 100th time.

"Oh c'mon, you always say that. What could be so hard or scary about it? It's just going to different places to complete different jobs, and blah blah blah-" Riley went on, only to be cut off.

"It's more dangerous than you guys think, just trust me." Kirai remarks with a more stern tone of voice, causing the siblings to stop while they were ahead.

Rachel looked a little sad. "We're sorry big brother, we just always wanted to be apart of your dream team." She apologizes. Kirai loosens on his frown, giving a more content facial expression.

"I know. The day will come guys, but patience is the key to a lot of things in life, and this is no exception." Kirai reminds them.

"Yeah yeah." Riley brushes him off, still a bit upset. Kirai shrugs it off, used to the those type of responses from particularly his younger brother.

"Well, we'll see you home in five minutes, right?" Rachel asks unknowingly.

"Who knows? I might sent to the underworld by some dusknoir before I have a chance of getting back. They are known to live in these parts of the woods." Kirai brought up with a cheesy grin on his face.

"Oh my gosh, don't say that, it could really happen!" Rachel exclaims with a hint of frustration.

"I hope it does, maybe it'll teach you a lesson for not allowing to be apart of your team, you big meanie." Riley admits.

"Wow, way to stick up for your big brother Riley, but then again . ." Kirai paused, darting behind his little brother only to wrap him tightly in his arms.

"Hey! What are ya-" Riley yells in surprise. Kirai proceeds to lift him off his feet, causing the little guy to frail his feet around and squirm all over the place.

"To be apart of the dream, you gotta fall with it too. I'm gonna be lonely in the underworld Riley, I'll need you to keep me company, how does that sound?" Kirai teases his little brother whom is still struggling to get out of the grip.

"No no no no no! Please brother, stop it! You're on your own on that one, just stop!" Riley pleads frantically. Rachel rolls her eyes.

"So that's how it is, huh brother? Taking Riley, but not your younger sister too?" Rachel asks in what seems to be jealousy.

"Oh, you can come too if you want. I'm sure they'll be enough room for one more victim" Kirai offers with a smirk on his face.

"On second thought, no thanks." Rachel declines, causing Kirai to laugh at the sudden change of mind. At that moment, he let go of his brother, letting him run freely back to Rachel in slight fear.

"Alright, I think that's enough nightmare fuel for one evening. You guys should head back now." Kirai suggests.

"Ok, see you later." Rachel says happily as she goes on ahead. Riley sticks his tongue out and pulls at the bottom of his left socket at Kirai in a childish manner before running off to join his sister home. Kirai snickers at the expression.

"Love you too." Kirai yells out before they ran off into the trees and out of his sight. Afterwards, he proceeds to punch and kick out into the air, resuming his interrupted training regiment.

The five minutes have finally passed, and Kiria is ready to head on home now. He grabs his big light brown bag and wraps the straps around his shoulders and stomach. He then gets down on all fours and darts towards his home in the same direction the pichus went. The sun is close to setting at this time.

In no time, Kirai arrives at the entrance of his home. His family lives in an underground burrow near the middle of the woods. On a side note, these particular woods are called the Lushleaf Woods, and they're located to the west of the infamous Pokemon Square. It's home to a variety of pokemon like aipom, mankey, stantler, ledyba, and much more. In comparison to other lands ripe with trees, Lushleaf Woods isn't that big, but it's still heavily filled with many trees that stretch for miles. There's also a nearby lake, called the Bilon Lake, that acts as a water source for the residents close by and a home for some water pokemon. Anyhow, Kirai's burrow is always covered with green leaves to stay hidden from any predatorial pokemon. In case that strategy fails, the drop down into the main room is laced up with a multitude of elusive strands of singular thread stretch all the way down to the base of the barrow. These threads are known as Charger Strings because they have the special property to store and conduct electricity, and they release that electricity on physical contact. If you're not an electric pokemon that can absorb the shock, ouch. There's a second surface-level entrance that has a wooden circle locked from the outside, with no strings strings attached, for pokemon that aren't electric type of course, we can't be too hostile to our visitors now can we?

Kirai makes his way down the stringy hole, going through it like it's no problem, only to be met with welcoming regards from his family.

"Wow, you actually kept your promise Kirai, that only happens once in a blue moon." Kirai's dad comments with a smiley expression. He's a normal-looking Vigoroth whose 40 years old now, and his name is Daruuk, He wears a red bandana around his neck, and he also has a scar on his torso, in the shape of a line. Kirai chuckles at the remark.

"Wow, way to point that out dad, I feel a little better about myself now." Kirai said smiling all the while. Daruuk laughs at his oldest son's humorous remarks.

"Now that's my boy! Keep it up and you might get yourself a nice female someday." Daruuk went on, causing Kirai to blush slightly at the statement. His younger siblings laugh out loud.

"Yeah whatever dad." Kirai mumbles looking down to his feet, hiding most of his face from his family.

"Aw, don't be embarrassed Kirai, it's ok to feel that way. Anyhow, are you ready for your leave tomorrow?" Kirai's mom said. She's a Raichu whose name is Carrie, and her age is 38 years old. She wears purple hoop earrings, and wears a purple necklace that has a yellow lightning bolt pendant attached.

"Yes mom, I'll be ready for tomorrow. After I'm done bathing in the Purity Pond outside, I'll get myself ready for my little adventure to the Pokemon Square." Kirai said. The younger siblings look confused.

"Wait, what? Kirai, you didn't tell me and Rachel about that, what gives?" Riley asks flusteredly. Rachel also looks slightly pouty as well, causing Kirai to sigh.

As Kirai's about to comment back to rationalize his secret-keeping, his dad steps in. "You little youngsters you, don't you guys worry about that, your bigger bro will be fine, he's not moving away, he's only visiting the square to check it out." Daruuk buts in to Kirai's surprise and benefit.

Rachel looks content, but Riley still has suspicions.

"Yeah, I'm not buying it. I bet Kirai's is working on how to form his rescue team without us." Riley counters at his dad.

"Well little brother, you can believe whatever you want, and I won't say that you're right or wrong, but what I will say is that you and Rachel shouldn't concern yourselves with it. Please?" Kirai pleads. Riley pouts and crosses his arms, huffing and puffing.

"Riley dear, please try not to get mad, Kir-" Carrie speaks only to get cut off by her riled up son.

"No mom! Kirai is always saying that he'll make a rescue team without us involved, and now he's keeping secrets from me and Rachel? Do you not love or trust us Kirai?" Riley asks in a sadder tone, Kirai paws at his hair.

"Don't be a fool Riley! . . . Of course I love you guys, but I care more for y'alls well-being than anything . . and for the last time, you don't need to be involved in this, not now. I promise you, once I get my act together, and I know what I am doing, then you guys can be invited into my team anytime." Kirai finishes, looking down at his little brother who looks calmer than before.

"Geez, what a dramatic scene between siblings. Look Rachel, Riley, I can definitely appreciate y'alls determination to support your older brother's path, but you youngsters are still pipsqueak pichus, you brats still have a long ways to go before you're ready to take on the world. But not to worry, that's why good ol papa is here, and your beautiful mother too; we're here to not only nurture you guys, but we're also here to make you pipsqueaks stronger too. Your older brother over there, he's gotta learn how to impact the world through his own personal abilities, and it's better to leave him be. But y'alls time will come as well when the time is right, I'm sure that's what Kirai wants." Daruuk adds on, putting Riley at ease finally. Kirai face relaxes.

"Ok then, sorry for getting into your business brother, I'm just really eager i guess." Riley apologizes. Kirai smiles again.

"It's ok, I should learn to inform you guys more of what's going on in my life." Kirai says in agreement. His parents smile at the scene.

"Alright, good . . now Kirai, you go and wash up before you stink up the burrow with your sweaty behind." Daruuk orders.

"Whew, don't worry, as long as it gives me an excuse to avoid my loudmouth siblings, I'll take my "sweaty behind" to the bath." Kirai comments, giggling at the pichus reactions.

"Say that again please" Rachel says in an intimidating, yet adorable tone of voice.

"Yes mam . . 'loudmouth siblings!' There, feel better now Miss Rachel?" Kirai asks in a mocking tone of voice as he takes a bow.

"That does it! Come here you bastard of a brother!" Riley yells, proceeding to chase after Kirai with Rachel joining the pursuit. Kirai runs back up the hidey hole, laughing out loud.

"Hey! Watch your damn language you little . . . rascals . . " Daruuk demands, only the children were already outside of the range of hearing that. They were outside at this point. He sighs to himself. Carrie laughs at the situation.

"Perhaps you should watch your language too dear, you always get riled up too when they get like that. Maybe you should join the chase, you'll fit right in." Carrie comments while chuckling. Daruuk couldn't help but chuckle along at the comment.

"Well, I probably could if I wanted to. I still have a lot of youth and vigor left inside!...but I'm pooped, it's been a long day, let them kill themselves off, they'll be doing us favors doing that Arceus damnit . . raised up these kids only for two of them to jump on the big brother bandwagon, what a disgrace." Daruuk complains. Carrie looks slightly offended by the statement.

"Well, if that's how you feel-" Carrie rants, only to be cut off by a hand gesture and chuckle from Daruuk.

"Relax Carrie, I'm only kidding of course. I'm glad that Rachel and Riley look up to Kirai like that, it reminds me of my childhood . . ah those days were so chill and slow-paced." Daruuk fantasizes, causing Carrie to loosen up and smile at the thought.

"I'm sure they were, you were a slakoth back then after all, of course those times would be slow-paced." Carrie points out, getting a few chuckles out of Daruuk.

"Yes you're right, and now here we are, seeing our children grow so fast. It won't be long before Kirai leaves the nest and flies on his own again . . I just hope he's ready this time." Daruuk mutters with a slight frown on his face; Carrie takes notice and snuggles up into his chest, Daruuk wraps his right arm round her in response.

"Try not to think about that Daruuk, I'm sure Kirai has forgiven you long ago already, he's not the type to hold grudges like that anyway." Carrie reminds Daruuk, keeping him in check.

"Yeah, I know, it's just that everytime the rescue team topic is brought up, I can't help by think back to that time . . . but you're right, he's older and much stronger than before, it's was only inevitable that this present time would occur, and I'm excited for him, no doubt about that." Daruuk states with confidence. Carrie nods her head in agreement.

The moonlight shines upon the woods with a blue glow, the wind breezes through the trees, causing the leaves to rustle. Kirai comes back to his burrow quietly from his pursuers and his peaceful bath. He enters his own room which is separate from the living room and his siblings' room. The room was small with a nest in the corner, a small-sized bag in another, a couple of barrels, and a candle for light. He lit the candle with a tiny spark of static electricity, lighting up his compact room with an orange brilliance. He grabs some oran berries and apples from the respective barrels to fill his brown bag with. After stuffing his bag with 8 of each item, he zips up his bag and lays it to the side for the night.

At this time, the rest of his family is still awake, although the sleepiness is settling in. Kirai visits his siblings for one last time in their room. Their room is across from Kirai's, and is a bit bigger with everything being the same except for there being two smaller nests for Riley and Rachel to individually sleep on. The two siblings were relaxing in their nests, eying their older brother coming in their room.

"I'm disappointed. You guys are tired already and y'all couldn't even catch up to me? Tsk tsk tsk." Kirai mocks as he wags his tiny index finger back and forth in front of them. Rachel giggles while Riley grunts under his breath.

"Hmm, well at least one person has a sense of humor. Don't sweat it Riley, you might catch up to my level, or not." Kirai points out, causing Riley to ball up his little paws. Kirai walks over to pat his bro and sis on the head with his paws, calming even the frustrated Riley.

"Look guys, I'm letting y'all know right that I'm going to be leaving early in the morning tomorrow, so I won't be here when y'all wake up, so I'm saying my goodbyes to you now. Once again, I'm sorry for not informing you guys about what's going on in my life, but I don't want that to be y'alls main concern. You guys have to focus on improving your own lives, after all, you're only young once. And I plan to see and experience what this world has to offer, and tomorrow is the starting point to that cause." Kirai proposes in a subtle, yet confident tone.

"Yeah, we've forgiven you big bro, If we can't even keep up with you on our toes, then we have a long way to go as well." Rachel happily says to Kirai as she glances at Riley, and the latter returns the look with a more uplifting expression.

"Yeah, I'll agree with Rachel for once on this one. And we've heard you say your goals a thousand times already Kirai, c'mon we're not that slow. Just make it back safe and sound, please?" Riley asks nicely, making Kirai sigh in relief.

"Whew, thank Arceus you guys finally understand. I swear, it's probably taken about . . a thousand times for you guys to actually listen and accept what I'm saying. You two are slower than slowpokes, and that's not saying much because unlike y'all, they actually have working brains." Kirai mocks as he proceeds to tickle the both of them with his paws, causing the duo to laugh and squirm around wildly in unison.

"Stop it! Hahahahahaha, we get it! You're gonna make me pee myself! Aaaahahahaahaha!" Riley pleads excitedly.

"You're gonna pee yourself? Awww, poor baby." Kirai comments as he tickles them harder. Riley and Rachel both feel like they're ready to explode.

Some time has passed, and Kirai finally says his goodnights to his younger siblings, leaving them to rest from the tickle fit. He then proceeds to go into his own little room to rest on his own nest. He blows out his candle and curls up into a ball-shape on his nest, closing his eyes to eventually fall asleep.

CHAPTER 1 END


	2. Chapter 2 Morning Travel

CHAPTER 2 Morning Travel

The once blue night is slowly transitioning into a light blue dawn as the sun peaks in the horizon; the surrounding trees are casting elongated shadows everywhere. Nearby pidgeys and yanmas fly and flutter about along the ground and tree branches. The lid to the burrow is opening up from below; Kirai pops out from the burrow with his bag wrap around his back. He proceeds to close the lid behind him as he treads on the grass in the direction where Pokemon Square is. Not a moment too soon, he encounters a neighboring sentret named Sally. She's a regular looking sentret with an orange bow attached to her right ear and a dark brown birthmark around the perimeter of her lips, which resembles lipstick. She's one year older than Kirai, and is holding a small bucket of water in her arms.

"Good Morning Kirai, I've heard you're heading out to the Pokemon Square. That's pretty far isn't it?" She asks. Kirai smiles at her.

"Hey Sally, hope you're having a good morning too, and no, the Pokemon Square isn't that far from here, at least for someone like me. I'm not a slowpoke after all . . but you probably are." Kirai mocks playfully. Sally puts the bucket down as she snickers.

"Oh, so you wanna start with that this early in the morning Kirai? I'll break your feet so you can't go anywhere you arrogant rat!" Sally declares as she tries to kick at his feet, but Kirai backflips to evade the attacks. Afterwards, Sally dashs full speed at him, tackling him to the ground with a playful bear hug. They're both laughing at the situation at hand, and Sally starts pounding on his face.

"Are you having fun? How does that feel Kirai, still think I'm a slowpoke?" Sally asks as she keeps up her act of dominance. Kirai struggles to grab hold of her paws as she targets his face.

"Hey, that's not . . fair. I have my bag on, its kinda heavy." Kirai brings up, hoping to get some mercy out his dear friend.

"Oh, such a shame Kirai, maybe you should have thought about that before provoking a fight out of me." Sally says in a carefree tone as she leans in near his face, looking at him with a malicious glint in her small eyes. Kirai's checks glow a bit redder than before, and he becomes a bit more nervous.

"And as a matter of fact-" Sally stops to raise Kirai off his back only to snatch the bag from around his body.

"Sally, what the hell?" Kirai blurts out as she proceeds to wrap the bag over her body in a backpack-like fashion.

"You're not even worthy of carrying around this bag if that's as fast as you can go, slowpoke. It's a dangerous world out there for dopes like you." Sally says whimsically as she winks back at him and darts off into the woods, leaving the pail of water behind. Kirai couldn't believe his eyes.

"Ok Sally, two can play at this wonderful game." Kirai schemes as he acquires the bucket of water, chasing her in the same direction. Sally isn't too far up ahead, but she looks back to check if he's there, but doesn't see anything coming. Consequently, she stops in her tracks.

"Well, that was pretty easy. Looks like I'll be going to the Pokemon Square in the place of Kirai since he was too weak to compete." Sally gloats as she flexes her stubby arms muscles in self-admiration. Moments later, a sudden downpour of water lands on Sally from above, leaving her in a daze as her fur is soaking wet now, along with a portion of the bag.

"Hahahahahaha, sorry to rain on your parade Sally, but you're the delusional one here. Hope you liked having a taste of your own medicine, or water rather." Kirai mocks as he lands steadily on his feet from the high tree branch above with the bucket in hand. Sally hugs herself in attempt to keep warm; her ears were curved downward.

"Well, that was a cheap trick, getting that water wasn't easy you know." Sally complains, causing Kirai to laugh once more.

"Well, you just proved my point, Bilon Lake is about a mile away from where we're standing, and even that is too far for you? Forget slowpoke, I think you just graduated into slowbrohood ." Kirai jokes delightfully, taking in the embarrassed look on Sally's wet face.

"Hey, if I'm a slow-anything, I'm gonna be a slow-queen, not a "bro," bro. And what's a slowqueen without a slowking?" Sally asks romantically as she flutters her eyes elegantly at Kirai, making his cheeks glow redder again.

"Have you been feeling alright Sally? I know you're family is growing x-eye seeds in the community farm, I just hope you haven't been eating them lately because what you're saying is BS." Kirai brings up, confusing Sally slightly.

"Why do you say that?" Sally asks as she picks up a lone seed on the ground to eat on the spot. Kirai looks dumbfounded.

"Really bro?" Kirai asks mellowly with an upside hand gesture directed at her. Sally laughs out loud as she's caught in the act.

"It's queen, not "bro," and I knew you would say something, it was only a plain seed, silly." Sally corrects happily as she continues to giggle; Kirai couldn't help but sigh to himself and smile afterwards.

"Sally, you are "silly." In fact, that should be your new name now. 'Ah, what up Silly? Have those x-eye-seeds given you a hangover yet? Can I have one bro?' " Kirai role plays in a deeper, bogged down voice as he giggles uncontrollably to his own mocking. Sally rolls her small eyes in response.

"Kirai, shut the hell up you bro-calling bastard." Sally says all the while giggling along with a now cackling Kirai. The sounds of his own laugh causes Sally to laugh harder as well, this last for a few more moments before the couple can catch their own breaths.

"Oh man, that was a good laugh, but I you still haven't explained why what I said before was "bs" to put it nicely." Sally reminds him; Kirai gets his act together to answer the question.

"Oh right, I said that because I'm a 'fastking' not a slowking, so can take your 'slowqueen' bumble butted bee-hind somewhere else." Kirai rejects proudly as he crosses his arms and turns his head the other way with his eyes closed.

Unexpectedly, Sally loosens Kirai's arm fold by grabbing onto his right hand with her cold and wet paw, causing him to shiver on impact. "It's funny that you say that, because I don't think you have a choice Mr. 'I'm not a slowpoke after all.' Who was able to pin you to the ground just now?" Sally asks knowing she's making him eat his own words. Kirai is almost too embarrassed to look her in the eyes.

"That was a mistake, my bag held me back, and you probably had assistance from a Gengar or something you cheater." Kirai proposes; Sally just rolls her eyes again.

"Yeah, yeah whatever sore loser." Sally brushes off as she tries to embrace Kirai in a big hug. Before that happens, Kirai puckers up his lips to form a smoochy face, even making sounds that suggest kissing. Sally reacts in time to smush his face inward by pressing on his cheeks.

"This is how I know you haven't grown up at all." Sally says to him blatantly.

Kirai, with his face still smushed, asks the simple question, "Where's the love in this?"

"I was about to get to that until this other form of 'love' stepped in, now I lost my mood." Sally confirms snickering at Kirai's disappointed look on his face.

"You really are the definition of a mightyena in mareeps clothing, and I wasn't going to kiss you, I know you already have a boyfriend . . . I've been rejected many times before." Kirai confirms as Sally smiles, releasing her hold on his cheeks.

"I know you weren't, but that was still wrong of you, and here's your punishment." Sally threatens as she successfully hugs him again, cold wet fur and all. Kirai fur grows wet as well, shivering under the pressure of the embrace.

"Geez, you're so cold, who said you could be an ice-type?" Kirai asks.

"The same guy who was trying to turn me into a water-type just now. How does it feel to get a taste of your own medicine, AND water?" Sally counters back, Kirai snickers at how she used his own words against him. In the end, he accepts the hug.

"It feels refreshing." Kirai answers.

Sally gave Kirai his bag back, getting ready to wish him farewell.

"So, looks like you're ready to head off now right?" Sally asks.

"Indeed I am, but I'm glad we could have this little chat before my departure." Kirai mentions with a smirk on his face.

"Oh don't worry, I'll be here whenever you need a full-blown conversation." Sally promises, making Kirai snicker at the underlying meaning.

"And here, I wanted you to have this." Sally says as she unravels a hidden scarf from the base of her tail.

"Oh, is this an early birthday present?" Kirai asks as if he were a young child.

"It should be. It's a power band, I'm sure you know what that does." Sally says with a smile on her face as she slowly walks off in the direction Bilon Lake is at.

"Well, that's pretty thoughtful of ya . . wait a minute! No wonder you were stronger than before! I knew you weren't a top percentage of sentret out there!" Kirai points out in a flustered tone. Sally looks back with a smirk.

"Yup, oh and by the way, I lied about having a boyfriend, but good luck out there." Sally wishes, laughing along as she scurries off with the bucket wrapped around her tail, which was sticking upwards.

Kirai is dumbfounded once again, frowning only moments after her departure.

"I hope that witch gets cursed by a damn banette one day. Two lies is too many. " Kirai wishes under his breath as he kicks a small pebble to the base of a tree. He stuffs the power band in his bag and heads on out towards the Pokemon Square again, leaving nothing behind.

He makes some good progress in travelling. It was a rather peaceful venture for the most part with no interruptive pokemon or other distractions. He's traveled far enough to make it to a clearing of the woods which leads into a wide path that has bare soil for the ground, and a line of trees to either side. That checkpoint only took about an hour and a ½ to reach in a running/walking pace. There's mild fog in the area, though that's not unusual in the early morning hours. There's an old wooden sign off to the side near the treeline. Kirai investigates what it has to say.

It reads:

 **POKEMON SQUARE ↑**

 **FOGGY HILLS →**

 **LUSHLEAF WOODS ↓**

 **SHYAN SHOWERS ←**

"I see, so I'm on the right track, my destination is straight ahead. Woohoo!" Kirai cheers himself on excitedly. One of the bushes off to the side rustles wildly; Kirai switches from happy to alert and defensive.

"So, you're talking to yourself now? I always knew you were the oddball in the family." A familiar voice relays to Kirai from the spot. Kirai looks on with more wondrous scepticism, and then he figures who it is.

"Dad!? . . . You're up pretty early, but then again, you always had trouble sleeping; I knew this trip of mine was going a little too well for me. And by the way, you got a lot of nerve labelling me the 'oddball' of the family. Says the same man who travelled all the way out here just to say 'hi' to his son like this." Kirai fires back with a righteous smirk on his face. Daruuk chuckles with his arms crossed.

"Ok, I'll give you that one, but you should already know why I'm here." Daruuk adds on as he takes a fighting pose with his posture resembling that of an ape's. Kirai immediately takes off his bag from around his body, dropping it onto the moist soil.

"Wait, I do? Tell me again, I think I have amnesia; I wonder whose fault that is?" Kirai asks sarcastically. Daruuk couldn't help but chuckle at the sarcasm.

"Man, you really don't know when to shut the hell up, do you Kirai? Pikachu's can't even learn amnesia if I'm remembering correctly, uh?" While Daruuk is trying to remember, Kirai is snickering to himself.

"Don't worry Dad, you're right about that one, although the fact that you had to question yourself is quite worrisome for someone your age." Kirai comments as he kneels down to open his bag.

"Oh keep talking son. If there's one thing I haven't forgotten about, it's whooping smart-asses such as yourself. You can't fool me Kirai, I know you were planning on doing more than just 'check out the place' . . No sir! You're ready and ripe for tackling a rescue expedition right off the bat aren't you?" Daruuk asks exhilaratingly. Kirai raises his eyes a bit in shock, but changes to a more content expression on his face. Daruuk takes notice and grins.

"Don't look surprised Kirai, you may've grown up a lot from before, but you're still easy to read. Let's see if you're worthy of earning this privilege, however." Daruuk challenges, looking fierce and ready for battle.

Kirai retracts his hand from the innards of his bag, retrieving nothing out of it in the end. He zips it up and rises to his feet and faces his father.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I had a feeling this fight was going to come; it wouldn't be the first." Kirai reminiscences as he gets on all fours.

"And it won't be the last!" Daruuk declares as he charges forward to land the first strike.

CHAPTER 2 END


	3. Chapter 3 Challenger

CHAPTER 3 CHALLENGER

 **THHUMMMMMMM!**

The impact of Daruuks strike left a small crater on the dampened ground, breaking up the earth. Kirai is already in the air, performing a midair triple backflip to land firmly on his feet.

Daruuk immediately goes back into the offensive with fast speeds, rearing to claw at his son with a quick barrage of fury swipes. Kirai does well to react accordingly, evading the strikes with relative ease as he stays on his toes. Daruuk changes up the pace by popping off a quick windmill breakdance maneuver, causing Kirai to back off and trip on himself. He catches himself and backflips once more, barely avoiding a sudden slash attack from his father.

*Pant *Pant *Pant

Kirai is starting fatigue a little.

"Growing tired already?!" Daruuk asks at the top of his lungs.

"Hmph, just warming up." Kirai answers as he darts for one of the nearby tree branches in a split second, then lands a quick strike on Daruuk's head, causing him to stumble on his footing.

"Ugh, damn." Daruuk mumbles under his breath. Meanwhile, Kirai takes another jab at his backside, causing Daruuk to fall face-first on the ground. Daruuk grunts as he quickly gets back onto his feet.

"Damn this!" Daruuk yells as he stomps the ground with his right foot at full strength.

 **THHHOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!**

The hard impact sends a strong shockwave across the area, breaking up the ground and causing the surrounding trees to collapse almost in unison. Kirai, standing on one of these falling trees, loses his balance and jumps into the air to regain his stature, only to be struck by a hard-hitting brick break to the chest.

"Gaaaawwwww!" Kirai shrieks in pain before he hits the ground harshly, sprouting dust clouds into the air.

*Cough *Cough

Kirai struggles to lift himself out of his mud angel that formed on the ground. He quickly brushes himself off in order to evade an incoming second brick break from Daruuk. Kirai proceeds to dart at the fallen trees, simultaneously readying an iron tail to snap off the branches slightly over his height. In quick time, he grabs hold of two, one in his left arm, and the other in his mouth.

"I wonder what you're planning!" Daruuk yells as he rushes after Kirai at full throttle, rearing up for a slash attack from behind. Kirai bounces up high into the air with an iron tail slam on the ground for an upward thrust. He's has hid himself in the fog somewhat.

"Taking to the skies, huh? Someone's eager to go to heaven!" Daruuk shouts energetically as he jumps after him.

In the fog, and at the peak of his momentous height, Kirai releases the branch initially clamped by his teeth. He, then, lightly plants his feet on the thick branch and pushes off hard from the surface of the wood towards the ground. From that, he's able to catch a faint sighting of Daruuk. As a follow up, he places the second branch in front of himself and immediately starts breaking up the branch into smaller wooden pellets with multiple brick breaks of his own. The pellets were like bullets, coming in fast on Daruuk who couldn't see the attack coming fast enough because of the fog.

"Aahhhh what!?" Daruuk panics as he attempts to shield his body, blocking several pellets that are piercing his skin, revealing slivers blood.

"Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Daruuk screams in pain as one pellet manages to hit the corner of his right eye. He still tucks in his right arm in the moment as Kirai comes in fast with his own move, focus punch.

"Don't get cocky!" Daruuk warns loudly as he takes this chance to slash at Kirai with his right arm, only missing by a small margin. In that split moment, Kirai also takes this chance to land his focus punch on Daruuk's side torso.

 **CRRRAAACKKKK!**

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" Dauurk screams as he is launched across the air like a shooting star, crashing into a tree and tumbling down into the ground, sprouting a line of dust cloud debris. Kirai lands shakily on all fours, still a bit exhausted from that entire sequence of attacks. He looks over on the destruction he has caused in tiresome worriness.

"Damn . . please be alive . . ." Kirai thinks to himself seriously as he breathes somewhat heavily. A few short moments later, a plethora of Daruuk clones come charging out from the crash site towards Kirai, trapping him in place as they run clockwise in a circular pattern.

"Ah shit…double team" Kirai curses quietly as he gets back up on his hind legs to remain alert. The clones keep up the same act until one of them breaks from the pact to strike Kirai. In response, Kirai dodges the in coming strike by ducking his head; the rest of the clones begin to follow the initial fake's charge. Kiria performs a swift sequence of fluid dodges, ducks, flips and even iron tail windmill breakdance to eliminate the rest of the fakes. Before he could even react, Daruuk comes charging in with a large branch. He slams his son's stomach with the more flattened end of the branch, launching him into a far-off tree to the side.

"Uooooggghhhh!" Kirai yelps as his back hits the tree bark roughly. His vision is blurry for a few seconds, barely catching glimpses of the four new Daruuk clones that were closing in fast. Above all, he sees the same large branch being thrown his direction. Kirai does a backwards jump onto the tree on all fours, barely dodging the wooden projectile. In that instant, he bounces off the tree to dash straight at the Daruuk farthest to the back, whom of which threw the branch.

"Oh, someone's getting smart." Daruuk compliments as he prepares his brick break. Kirai does the same, resulting in a clash between the two. They cancel out each others blows, but they continue their brawl by letting their double-handed brick breaks do the talking. Kirai simeotaneously performs several spinning iron tails in midair for added pressure. Daruuk, however, manages to block out the hits, and even grabs Kirai's tail with a quick clap of his hands.

"Ha! I gotcha!" Daruuk blurts excitedly as he begins to slam Kirai's body onto the ground, face-first, while holding onto his tail with one hand. Kirai grunts in pain.

"Aaahhhhh!" Daruuk yells as he performs the same attack motion in the other direction, successfully pulling off the maneuver the second time.

"Uhh Ugghh Damn this..." Kirai mumbles angrily to himself as he shocks his dad with a thunderbolt attack, causing him to scream in pain. After the electrocution, Daruuk is shaken up quite a bit, giving Kirai an opportunity to escape his tail grasp and land a quick iron tail to the left hip.

"Ahh!" Daruuk shrieks as he places his paws over the injured area. Kirai breathes heavily again, standing on all-fours as he studies his dad's motions, wondering what he'll do next. Even Daruuk pants quite a bit from the action as he, too, looks at his son's body language. The two stare off at one another for what seems like forever.

Out of nowhere, Daruuk decides to rapidly dig up the uneven soil with sharp claws, causing dust and debri to form into the air. Some of the dust particles get into Kirai's left eye, leaving him to wipe it off in frustration. Suddenly, another swarm consisting of four Daruuks come jumping out from the same smokescreen-like display. This time, the clones waste no time to strike Kirai with aerial attacks from the front and behind. Kirai, this time around, has a harder time dodging the attacks, even resorting to punching the last fake into oblivion.

"Shit! Then that means . . ." Kirai thinks to himself instantly as he turns around to a strong slash attack to the left cheek. The laceration spills out two lines of blood as Kirai rolls and tumbles uncontrollably across the ground, finally halting on his backside after the impact. He's beat now; his breathing patterns are becoming rapid and faint. Daruuk eventually maintains his breathing after a full minute, still stuck in the same pose that finished off his son.

After a few moments of passed, he slowly walks over to look down on his son with his right eye still half closed. Kirai still retains some of his consciousness to see the silhouette of his father tower over him, and as such, his breathing becomes well enough to produce speech. The two, once again, stare off at each other without uttering a single word for a few more moments.

"Well . . . looks like . . I lost." Kirai admits in a raspy voice. He takes his eyes off of his dad to look at the foggy grayish sky; the blood from the slash wounds descends around the circumference of his his, eventually touching the soil. Daruuk kneels down to stop the bleeding by placing a paw on the open wounds.

"It would seem that way, Kirai." Daruuk rubs in as he walks over to Kirai's brown bag to unzip and locate an oran berry. He walks back over to his son, kneeling down again to raise to sit Kirai up with right paw, and feeding Kirai the berry with the other. Kirai motions that he can feed himself by taking and eating the oran berry, only in a slower manner than usual. As Daruuk waits for his son to finish the fruit, he continues to pad down Kirai's wounds with his open paw.

"So what?" Daruuk asks blatantly. Kirai pauses in his meal.

"What do you mean . . 'so what?' If this were a fight to the death . . I would be dead by now." Kirai says in a disappointed tone as he finishes his meal.

"Yeah, but so would I." Daruuk admits, leaving Kirai's face in astonishment.

"That's right. Don't start doubting your strength now, son. If you could put up with me like the way you did, I would say you're a winner in that regard." Daruuk praises solemnly as he leans his son into his chest to embrace him in his arms. Kirai takes a deep breath.

"But I'm not worthy of moving on . . if I couldn't pass the test. You have to be lying." Kirai assumes in a defeated tone of voice.

"No . . I'm not." Daruuk says truthfully as his voice starts to sounds shaky and griefful. Kirai looks a little more concerned for his dad, now.

"I'm just glad to see (sniff) that I haven't killed you . . ." Daruuk states wholeheartedly as he starts to shed tears from his eyes. Kirai is taken aback by his father's change in emotional state.

" . . . Dad . . ." Kirai murmurs as he closes his eye and accepts his father's warm embrace. The two remain in that position for several minutes; Daruuk eventually calms himself and remains silent. The fog still resides in its mistful cloudiness.

At this time, the two have separated themselves from each other. Kirai, with a sufficient amount of restored strength, goes back to his bag slowly. Daruuk stands on his feet with his arms crossed.

"Well, I reckon you're about to head off now right?" Daruuk asks to break the silence. Kirai keeps on moving.

"Yes sirree, I gotta keep moving right? Otherwise, I'll only be a sitting ducklett." Kirai comments back. Daruuk snickers as he shrugs his shoulders.

"Alrighty then, well before you run off, I wanted to spare you some poké for the trip, it could go a long way." Daruuk proposes as he reaches into the pocket of his scarf to pull out the small golden coins. Kirai looks back and looks quite grateful.

"Thank you for the offer, but my pride and generosity is telling me to decline it. Not to mention, I couldn't even beat you, again. Perhaps, when I come back, I'll be a stronger pokemon, worthy of your humbleness dad." Kirai brings up, causing Daruuk to stomp his foot in slight rage, even surprising Kirai. Daruuk takes a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Despite being an electric type, you're not very bright, are you son?" Daruuk asks rhetorically; one of Kirai's pointed ears slant downwards in a curious gesture.

"What do you mean?" Kirai asks in slight confusion.

"Hmm . . never mind, you'll figure out Kirai, for if I had to give you any feedback for this fight, it's that you judge yourself too hard after all is said and done instead of looking back at the subtle causes that may have lead to your defeat." Daruuk informs as he starts to walk in the direction the family burrow is at. Kirai remains silent, still curious to hear any additional information.

Once Daruuk walks a bit past his son, he stops and turns his neck to catch sight of Kirai from the corner of his eye. "Believe me, it doesn't matter who you fight or what the situation might be. It's very important that you're able to learn that skill, because for someone such as yourself, self-doubt is the last thing you need." Daruuk says firmly, Kirai nods his head accordingly.

"Yes sir." Kirai responds with genuine respect for the message.

Daruuk sighs in exhaustion as he tries to crack his neck and stretch his arms. "Well Kirai, it seems you'll be alright for the rest of your journey, and to that, I bid you farewell. The Square has a dojo area that you can rest up at whenever you feel the need to do so. And overall, stay alive my son; starting up a rescue team can be quite challenging, but boy is it awarding when it's fully realized. Just as a heads-up, a starter such as yourself well probably do simple errands before moving up in the ranks. And just be sure to stop by at home every once and awhile." Daruuk suggests as he grins back at his son who simply looks back with a slightly saddened look in his eyes.

"But wait a minute, does Riley and-" Kirai goes on before being cut off.

"Don't worry about that, they'll be alright. I know I told them that you weren't moving out, so now I feel bad, but at least that gives them the impression that you should come back, eventually." Daruuk reassures Kirai. The latter felt somewhat relieved to hear that, although it does bother him a bit that he couldn't give a proper farewell to his siblings.

"Not to mention, your strong ol papa will keep them in good shape, no doubt. They'll be too busy getting their bratty little asses kicked to worry about your whereabouts." Daruuk claims as he grabs onto his right shoulder, rotating his entire right arm clockwise as a means to show off his readiness and strength. Kirai chuckles at the display.

"Whatever you say dad. Just make sure not to go crazy on them, especially with them being pichus and all." Kirai suggests.

"I promise they'll be fine." Daruuk confirms with a frank smile.

"Alright, and tell them and momma that I love them, and that I will try to be as safe as I can be." Kirai relays his father. Daruuk nods.

"Indeed I will. The oran berry you ate should be taking full effect by now . . you should be able to move around more easily than before, and your blood wounds should be patched up now." Daruuk says as Kirai checks his own flesh only to see that his once open wounds are sealed with newly formed skin cells. He also runs around in a circle as though he we a dog trying to catch its own tail. Kirai stops and feels pumped.

"Alright, nice! I swear, the oran berries should just be called the holy berries instead." Kirai says, Daruuk nods in agreement.

"Yes they should, perhaps I'll have a talk with our Lord Arceus about the classifications of our foods one day. Hopefully he doesn't pass judgment on me when I do." Daruuk laughs and Kirai laughs along consequently for a few moments.

"Well, I should be heading back to the burrow now. I sure hope they're still asleep as it would probably be very awkward if they found out what took place this morning between us." Daruuk states, Kirai smirks in response.

"I agree 100%." Kirai says as he waves off to his now running-away father. Afterwards, Kirai collapses on his bottom to reflect back on the events that just took place. At that moment, he looks up to see the sun's faint, but visible glare in the sky; hiding just beyond the fog.

"At least the sun is still out, which means no rain for the remainder of the journey and the fog should clear up even-" Kirai suddenly has a second thought as his eyes widen.

"Wait a minute! The fog itself!" Kirai blurts out in realization of the negative consequences it has on electric type attacks. Kirai is stunned on how slow he was to see that such a detrimental weather condition was visually plain in sight. He gives himself a well-deserved face palm and chuckles at himself for it.

"What the hell Kirai? Get your brain together." Kirai encourages to himself he stands on his feet to grab an apple to replenish the rest of his energy and fill his stomach with better sustenance. As he unzips his bag further, he notices something strange.

"Hmm . . I should have nine oran berries, not eight . . ." He calculates with a raised brow. A few moments later, he places his left paw on his forehead, chuckling out loud.

"Sneaky bastard." Kirai mutters to himself.

CHAPTER 3 END


End file.
